MARIA Sharapova has pulled out of Wimbledon with injury – and her fans are “crying themselves to sleep”.
The five-time Grand Slam champion retired with a thigh problem from her second-round match at the Italian Open last month.
And the blonde Russian, 30, announced on Facebook she was having to pull out of the London tournament due to being unable to recover in time.
One posted a crying face, adding: “So so sad.”
(Image: GETTY)
While another said: “I’m so sorry for you Maria, I will wait your return for with impatience, you’re my ray of sunshine, take care of yourself Maria!!”
Another was beside herself with sadness.
She said: “Really thought I’d see you back at Wimbledon this year. Crying myself to sleep tonight.”
Last night Sharapova shocked her fans with the Facebook post.
Maria Sharapova in pictures
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She wrote: “After an additional scan, the muscle tear that I sustained in Rome will unfortunately not allow me to compete in the grass court tournaments I was scheduled to play.
“I want to thank the LTA for their amazing support on my return and providing me with a Birmingham wild card, a tournament which I hope many of you will be able to attend.
“I look forward to meeting you there next year. I will continue to work on my recovery and my next scheduled tournament is in Stanford.”
Sharapova had returned in April after a 15-month doping ban and was due to start Wimbledon qualifying on June 26.
This is a huge blow to her return – she’ll have to go through qualifying for the US Open due to her ranking not being high enough.
The Bank of the West Classic in Stanford begins on July 30.
Sharapova is currently ranked 178 in the world, having fallen out of the top 500 since testing positive for meldonium.
Her return has been controversial and she was refused a wildcard for the French Open.
Top players have spoken out against her being allowed back to the sport including Eugenie Bouchard and Caroline Wozniacki.
